Film news

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're aware that the Dark Knight hit cinemas last week. You can't escape Batman mania, and now that evil joker grins is everywhere! Seriously, it's all over the internet! To mark the release of the movie, bloggers everywhere have been defacing their avatars with evil joker grins. Warner Bros. has even created an application which lets the owners of iPhones or the iPod touch put a sinister smile on their face. Here's just a few I found.



If you've managed to get your paws on an iPhone or already own an iPod touch, you can download the Warner Bros. application through iTunes. The rest of us can make do with this application on Facebook.

Tonight, Sydneysiders, grab a blanket and head to Darlinghurst from 7.30 because the Darlo bar is playing Harold & Maude...for free!!! A most amazing, quirky film, Harold and Maude is a cult classic that plays with slapstick, black comedy, existentialism and beautiful whimsical imagery. The soundtrack was also composed and performed by Cat Stevens. Darlo Bar is at 306 Liverpool street, sydney. Get in early!

One day back in 1974 thousands of New Yorkers stared up at the Twin Towers in shock and horror. No, I'm not confused, I'm just referring to the day that Phillip Petit attempted a high-wire walk between the top floors Trade Center towers. "Man on Wire" is a documentary chronicling Petit and the various tight-ropes walked and laws broken during his career (including one involving the Sydney Harbour Bridge). Directed by film maker James Marsh, the hair-raising documentary debuted earlier this year at Sundance - where it one the Grand Jury prize.  "Man on wire" is due in Australian cinemas later this year.

If you're an 80s baby like me, odds are you also grew up singing "Under The Sea" along with Sebastian the lobster and longing for a mane of ranga-red hair.

Well, the things you learn on Wikipedia...

"Seachange or sea change is a poetical or informal term meaning a profound transformation; big significant change. The expression is Shakespeare's, taken from the song in The Tempest, when Ariel sings,

'Full fathom five thy father lies,
Of his bones are corals made,
Those are pearls that were his eyes, Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea change,
into something rich and strange,
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell, Ding-dong.
Hark! now I hear them, ding-dong, bell.'..."

"Ariel". What a perfectly ironic moniker for the singing mermaid who longs for life on the land!

In my humble opinion the Darlo Bar is up there as one of the coolest pubs in Sydney. A big call I know (especially as Sydney is so well known for it's bars aye) but consider these reasons:
a) It's located conveniently around the corner from my house, which makes it "a local" and therefore necessitates my endorsement
b) It has a sweet courtyard with white wrought iron furniture, Astroturf, comfy couches and glamour shots of kittens
c) Each Tuesday it puts that courtyard to fine use by holding a free movie screening.
Yes my friends, settle in with a glass of red, free popcorn and an expertly chosen classic flick. Previous movies have included Rosemary's Baby; the amazingly excellent Withnail & I and Manhattan. Tonight, Tuesday July 8 sees Monty Python's the Meaning of Life as your entertainment. Seating is first in, best view so to be sure to get to the corner of Liverpool and Darlinghurst Rd by 7.30pm.

Do you know who once uttered the title of this post? If so then maybe you should consider entering a film in this years DigiSPAA competition. Although it sounds like a new model of swimming pool, DigiSPAA is in fact the leading showcase for low-budget filmmaking in Australia and New Zealand. Recognising that big ideas don't necessarily need to be backed up by big budgets, DigiSPAA encourages young people to experiment with more accessible and cheaper forms of filmmaking technology. Entries for this year's competition close on Friday September 19, with the finalist films being screened at the SPAA Fringe Conference at Sydney's Chauvel Cinema on October 24 and 25. Oh and did I mention prizes? How about $15,000 cash, $20,000 worth of postproduction and a return trip to the prestigious Rotterdam Cinemart International Feature Film Market? Phew! If this sounds like something you could have a crack at then head here for details.

Once upon a time, crazy German auteur Werner Herzog proclaimed that he would "eat his shoe" should friend and documentary maker Errol morris ever finish a film. Well, in 1980 Morris did complete a film - the now well-known "Gates of Heaven" - and above is footage of Herzog indeed munching down on his daggy leather shoe. Apparently the trick is to simmer the shoe in duck stock and garlic for several hours before washing back the chewy dish with a beer. The film (cleverly entitled "Werner Herzog Eats his Shoe") is by another brilliant documentary maker, Les blank, and you can view more of it here.